'It didn't even make sense': Simon Cowell criticises Natalia Kills for her comments on The X Factor NZ

'Where they cocked up was that they didn't apologise straight away. If they'd both been genuinely sorry and called me, and apologised to the guy and his family, who knows what could have happened? They didn't. They were quite defensive.'

The husband and wife were fired from their judging spots following their on air rant at Joe Irvine in the first live show of the series.

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After a barrage of criticism from social media and celebs, the pair issued apologies for their actions via their Twitter accounts, but also hinted that they were told to stir things up behind the scenes.

Posting simultaneous messages, Natalia told her Twitter followers 'At last! I am relieved that I'm finally able to break the silence... xoxo.' She then posted a lengthy statement which explained that 'a lot goes on behind the scenes of a reality TV show and you see isn't always the whole story.'

'The show brought me on to bring my passion, dramatic expression and perspective. I was encouraged to be outspoken and things got out of hand.'

She finished by personally reaching out to Joe, writing: 'I hope you can forgive me and I wish you all the best! Be natural, unconventional and be you!'

Willy posted a similarly worded post, which stated that 'the show encourages judges to be forthright and highly opinionated. It went too far and I never intended to single out anyone.'

The drama started when Overs contestant Joe gave a performance on Sunday, which prompted a furious criticism from British-born Natalia.

'Ladies and gentlemen, I'm just going to state the obvious, we have a doppelgänger in our midst,' Kills began. 'As an artist who respects creative integrity and intellectual property, I am disgusted at how much you've copied my husband.

'From the hair to the suit, do you not have any value for respect for originality? You're a laughing stock. It's cheesy, it's disgusting, I personally found it artistically atrocious,' she added.

Moon, 25, stepped in to back up his 28-year-old wife of almost one year, comparing Irvine to Psycho character, Norman Bates. 'To me it feels just a little bit cheap and absurd.'

'It's like Norman Bates dressing up in his mother's clothing,'he added. 'It feels a little creepy and I feel like you are going to stitch someone's skin to your face and then kill everybody in the audience... but you do you.'

After a huge outpouring of support for Joe, the husband and wife were sacked from the show the following day, and promptly fled to Los Angeles.

Lots of support:Joe Irvine was the target of the husband and wife's acerbic criticism